Crypto markets extended their weekend slide with widening losses across major high-beta tokens and altcoins, as futures selloffs piled up following bitcoin weakness.
Ether took the brunt of the damage. The second-largest cryptocurrency saw around $385 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours, the most of any asset, as its price fell sharply alongside a broader trend of risk aversion. Bitcoin followed with around $188 million in liquidations, while losses accelerated on Solana, XRP and a long tail of altcoins.
Liquidation data shows that the sell-off was asymmetric. Long positions accounted for the vast majority of forced exits, with short liquidations barely recorded. This imbalance indicates that traders are stuck in the same direction after weeks of range-bound price action and repeated attempts to buy the dip.
The damage is not limited to crypto-native assets. Tokenized products also featured prominently, with blockchain-based silver contracts seeing unusually large liquidations relative to their size.
The presence of metals alongside bitcoin and ether is indicative of how crypto sites are increasingly being used as fast-moving macro trading rails during times of stress.
Solana and XRP each saw more than $45 million in liquidations, while dozens of smaller tokens were wiped out as liquidation engines fired on exchanges. In total, around $974 million was wiped out in the last 24 hours, and more than 240,000 traders were forced out of their positions.
Price developments among the majors reflect the pressure. Bitcoin slipped towards the $80,000 zone, ether broke key short-term levels and altcoins fell at a faster pace, increasing their sensitivity to leverage cycles.
With liquidity dwindling over the weekend and risk appetite diminishing, this move feels less like a panic and more like a mechanical reset.
Whether this clears the way for stabilization or opens the door for further decline will depend on how quickly debt rebuilds once markets fully reopen.
